Key to the Dragons' Cage
by devilishicedragon
Summary: One day, Lucy wakes up in a skin quite different from her own. With this new body comes new powers and new problems. But why is she like this anyway? Who keeps on trying to kidnap Lucy, and why do they insist on calling her "the key"?
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so this is a new story. It's also the first one I've posted here. So yay! I feel really good about this story, and I have most of it planned out! Please leave a review if you have the time. I'd really appreciate any advice, or helpful criticism, or even just your thoughts on the story. Now, let's do the disclaimer, and get on with this chapter, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, however much I love the series! T-T**

As soon as I woke up, I knew something was wrong. My body felt all out of proportion. I opened my eyes and looked down at my hand. In its place was a scaly, golden claw.

I let out a scream, but it came out as an animalistic roar. I scrambled out of bed, rushing to the bathroom as best I could on four legs. Clambering on top of the sink, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. What I saw caused me to roar again in surprise.

I was a small dragon. Roughly the size of a house cat, I was covered in golden scales. Small horns twisted out of me head. On my back was a pair of delicate wings. To test out my new, strange muscles, I tried to unfurl them. They opened up easily with a soft swishing sound.

_Yes! This is amazing! _I cheered in my head, but then I frowned. Brown eyes stared at me worriedly in the mirror. _What am I supposed to do about this? _I thought frantically.

"Happy! There's a teeny-tiny dragon in Lucy's bathroom!" Natsu's voice shouted from behind me.

I let out another terrified roar, and this time, a stream of flames burst from my mouth, scorching the mirror.

I whirled around to scold Natsu without thinking.

"Natsu, you hot-headed idiot! What are you doing breaking into my apart—" I realized that I was talking normally and stopped abruptly.

Natsu's eyes were wide with shock. He blinked twice, slowly, and then, in a questioning voice said, "Lucy?"

"H-hey Natsu," I said weakly.

His face broke out into a toothy grin.

"Lucy is a dragon! You're a little dragon! And you use fire! This is awesome!" He started to laugh maniacally as Happy strolled in.

"Natsu, what are you talking about? Where is Lucy?" The blue Exceed asked, not believing a word his partner had said.

I sighed tiredly before speaking again, "Happy, this is me, Lucy. I woke up in this body this morning. I don't know what happened." This sounded ridiculous even as I said it, and Happy obviously thought so as well.

He snickered, covering his mouth with his paws.

Before I could tell him off for laughing at me, Natsu spoke.

"Oi, Happy! Should we take Lucy to the guild? I want to show everyone!"

"Aye sir!"

Before I had time to respond, Natsu grabbed me and started running. All of a sudden I felt myself falling, and I instinctively wrapped myself around the closest thing possible, which happened to be Natsu's arm. I heard a soft thump and felt the dragon slayer start running again. I opened my eyes and realized that we had jumped out of my window and were headed toward the guild building.

I started to struggle, flailing my dragon limbs and whipping my tail back and forth. It was no use. My tiny body was no match for his strength, and I remained pinned to his chest.

I tried pleading with him, "Natsu, please don't do this! I don't want to go to the guild looking like this!" He shook his head and kept on running and crazy grin on his face.

"You should stop trying to get away, Lucy," said Happy from where he was flying behind us.

"No, you stupid cat! I don't want to go!" I screamed back at him angrily. I twisted my neck around to face forward so that I could at least see how far away we were from the guild. To my dismay, I saw that we were almost there, and it looked like Natsu was going to crash into the doors in a second.

"Natsu, stop! We're going to crash!" I yelled in his ear, getting extremely nervous.

He kept going, and at the last minute thrust his leg out to kick the doors open. They flew open with a bang.

"Everyone, look at Lucy!" Natsu shouted, effectively getting the attention of everyone in the guild. He grinned and held me up for inspection. Everybody just stared at him, and I sighed exasperatedly.

Then, Gray called out to his rival, "What are you talking about, idiot? That's not Lucy. That's a little . . . animal or something, anyway, what's going on with you?"

Natsu shook his head excitedly. "Nope, this is Lucy. She got turned into a tiny dragon! Isn't it awesome!?"

Wendy took a step in our direction and sniffed deeply. "Well, it does kind of smell like our Lucy-san," she said hesitantly.

Levy walked up to me and Natsu. Peering into my eyes intently, she asked, "Is that you, Lu-chan?"

I nodded my reptilian head and responded sheepishly, "It's me."

The whole guild burst into chaos. People swarmed around us, talking loudly and asking questions rapidly. Others gathered into small groups and talked amongst themselves while casting speculative glances over at me.

Then, someone grabbed me out of Natsu's grip. Seconds later, I was staring into the red eyes of the iron dragon slayer. Gajeel squinted at me skeptically before saying, "What the hell happened to you, bunny girl?" He started twisting me around to examine me from different angles, and I started to get dizzy. I thrashed my little body in vain. When he turned me back to face him, I growled angrily and spat my golden flames at his face. Startled, Gajeel dropped me and raised his hands up to his face.

Without thinking about it, I spun slightly in the air to land gracefully on my four paws. I scowled up at Gajeel, and snapped at him, "I am not a toy to play with! So don't just pick me up and poke at me! It's not polite!" I flapped my wings with agitation.

Gajeel pulled his hands away from his face slowly. He smiled wolfishly down at me. I gulped, suddenly remembering that I was talking to a very powerful, very violent dragon slayer.

"You wanna go bunny girl? I'll kick your dragon ass!"

I hesitated, no longer as confident as before. Then, I looked down at my claws. They were razor sharp, and gleamed in the brightly lit guild hall. Smirking as best I could with my strange snout, I looked up to meet his challenging gaze.

"Don't be so sure about that, Gajeel! This body isn't as weak as my human self!" I proclaimed proudly.

With a sharp flick of my wings, I propelled myself directly towards Gajeel's face. His eyes widened ever so slightly before narrowing again. He drew back his arm to strike, and I heard him shout, "Club of the Iron Dragon". Hoping desperately that it would work, I angled my wings to bank left. When the long pole of Iron shot past me, I clutched onto it with my claws. There was a loud, ear-numbing screech like the sound of metal grating on metal.

Gajeel grunted out of surprise retracted his club until I was gripping onto his bare arm. I took a deep breath, thinking hard about my golden fire, and imagined it coming out through my paws. When I opened my thick lids, there were bright flames encasing my hands.

They seared Gajeel's arm. He snarled and flung me across the room. As I lay dazed on a table, I became aware of the guild shouting about the fight. Some of them were cheering for me, exclaiming about how I had actually managed to wound the iron dragon slayer in combat. Others were teasing him for getting hurt by a little dragon or a woman.

I heard someone running over to me. It was Natsu. His face was full of excitement as he picked me up and started to chatter animatedly.

"Luuuccccyyy! That was so awesome! You totally beat that metal-head bastard!" He happily congratulated me on the fight. Then he paused, a slightly devious look on his face. "I have an idea, Lucy! Let's go and train together! It's going to be so much fun! I'm getting all fired up!"

Before I could fully comprehend what he had said, I was in his arms again, getting dragged along just like earlier.

* * *

Master Makarov sat on a railing on the second floor of the guild, closing his eyes in deep thought. _This is suspicious. Lucy just turned into a dragon randomly? It doesn't make sense. Could it be that someone is after her? Perhaps it would be wise to watch her for a while. If she is in any danger, we will find out. I know Natsu stays with her often, but even with his strength he's just too much of an idiot to protect her properly._

His concentration was broken by a red haired mage walking up the stairs to him. "Master, what do you think of this situation? Is it the work of a dark guild maybe? They always seem to be coming after Lucy, and there is no way that a transformation like that could happen on its own." Erza's voice was full of concern.

Master smiled beneath his bushy moustache. "Perfect timing Erza. I am not entirely sure of what is going on myself, but I intend to find out. Can you perform a small task for me?" The knight nodded swiftly. "Well then, I want you to watch over Lucy. Do not let her out of your sight unless you know for sure she is with another guild member. I want you to inform me if you notice anything odd regarding her. If someone should try to kidnap her, you are to apprehend them immediately and bring them here to me. Do you understand? Something is up, and I don't like the way it looks at all."

Erza nodded again. Respectfully, she responded, "I will do as you say, Master. Nothing will happen to Lucy while I am with her!" She turned on her heel and went back downstairs, prepared to start her mission.

Makarov returned to observing his "children" from the railing. He smiled as he saw Natsu run off with Lucy in tow. _She'll be alright. With both that idiot and Erza protecting her, nothing could go wrong! Not to mention, Lucy is a pretty strong mage herself, stronger than she lets on. Yes, she will be just fine. Now I just have to find out why she has transformed. Levy will be most helpful with that, I think._

He hopped off of the railing, grabbing his staff as he did, and walked into his office to begin shuffling through a pile of paperwork.

* * *

Lucy padded softly over to her bed. After almost drowning in her bathtub, she had settled for washing in her sink. It had been harder to scrub with her odd body, and as a result, there were still some dirty spots on her scales.

After being kidnapped by Natsu, he had taken her to some spot up in the woods where he had made her train with him. She had been made to run, fly, and demonstrate everything that she could now do as a dragon. And the most _fun_ of all, she had been forced to have practice fights with Natsu in order to "toughen her up", as he put it.

Lucy was exhausted. She sighed wearily when she saw a pink head of hair poking out from under her fluffy blankets. She jumped up onto the bed, her tired muscles screaming a protest. She crawled over Natsu's body to get to the other side, and stared at him as she settled in. His face was peaceful, and his lips were curved up in a small smile.

_He really is cute when he is sleeping. There's such a big difference between this calm, sleeping him, and the usual loud, silly him. _Lucy thought wryly. Then, Natsu reached out to her with one of his hands, still sleeping, and pulled her close to him. "Luuuuccccyy," he murmured quietly.

Lucy smiled at his actions and decided against trying to escape his embrace. Instead, she snuggled further into his warm chest and closed her eyes. Soon, she was asleep.

**By the way, I forgot to mention this before, but the title is subject to change. It all depends on how the story turns out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I know that it has been a very long time since I last updated, and I am really, really, really sorry about that! I have just been very busy, between being sick, end of year exams, and loads of other work. Now, however, I am on my summer vacation! That means that I should be able to write a lot more, and updates should come faster than before. This chapter was a little bit rushed towards the end because I was anxious to get it done, so let me know if you think there is anything that needs revision. Last, but not least, I would like to thank everybody who followed/favorited/reviewed for last chapter! It made me extremely happy, and gave me the push I needed to work on this during my spare time! Now, on with the chapter!**

* * *

I watched patiently as the lacrima went blurry for a moment before it refocused. It showed me the fire dragon slayer and our little project, Lucy Heartfilia, as they trained in the woods. I smirked as I watched her dodge an attack from her partner and counter it with a blast of her own fire.

_Yes, she has adapted perfectly to the dragon body. And in such a short time as well. She is the best of all our experiments so far. Perhaps it is her summoning magic that makes it so easy for her to wield other magics. Hmm . . . I shall have to look more into that. But it should not take much longer for her to become ready. Let's give it one more day. Then we shall make our move._

I straightened up in my chair and called out, "Akan!" A figure appeared in a corner of the room, emerging from the shadows. He grinned up at me from behind his long, shaggy hair.

"You called?" His sarcastic tone annoyed me, the bow he gave when he got closer even more so. I didn't let it show.

Instead, I closed my own eyes and smiled. "Yes. Soon, Lucy will be fully prepared for her role in our plan. One more day should be enough. Just to make sure that she doesn't break down like the others. Then, I want you to bring her to me. Make sure not to harm her. After all, she is the key to our success." I relaxed again in my seat, content with my plans. Then I heard a snicker in front of me.

My eyes snapped open. Akan's cheeks were puffed up; he was clearly holding back laughter. When he met my gaze, he burst. His loud guffawing filled the room. Tears leaked from his eyes as he clutched his sides.

Very slowly, I asked him, "What is so amusing?" He pointed at me, his body quivering with mirth.

"It's just that you keep on being overly dramatic boss! It's fucking hilarious!" Akan explained to me through bouts of laughter.

I was starting to get very ticked off. When he didn't stop his cackling, I yelled out, "Enough of your foolishness! Get out of here and go do your job, or I'll skin you alive!" He wiped a final tear from one of his blue eyes and stuck his tongue out at me childishly before disappearing into the shadows again.

I massaged my temples tiredly. _I'm living in a world of idiots._

* * *

Lucy stretched herself out in a very feline manner, arching her back as she opened up her brown eyes. She blinked the last remnants of sleep away. Then her gaze fell on her limbs, and her happiness drained away.

She started to tear up as reality came crashing down upon her and she saw that, _It wasn't a dream. It really happened. I turned into a mini-dragon. _

"Hey, Lucy. What's wrong?" Natsu's voice brought her out of her thoughts, and she twisted her neck around to look at him. His face was full of concern.

She continued to sniffle a bit as she tried to explain, "It's just that . . . I was hoping it was all a dream! It was fun for the day, but I don't want to be stuck as a dragon. I want my old body back!"

Her tears started flowing a little faster, and Natsu pulled her against his chest, gently this time. He stroked her back comfortingly.

"Lucy, it's gonna be fine. I'll help you get your body back, I promise."

Lucy hiccuped and gave him a watery smile. "Thanks, Natsu. I'm just a little worked up. It's so confusing, I don't understand why any of this is happening at all, and I don't know what to do about it!"

She looked up at her partner desperately. Natsu concentrated hard, a cute frown on his face. Then, he suddenly lit up with excitement.

He held Lucy up and away from him, "Hey, Lucy, I have an idea! Let's go talk to Levy! She reads even more than you do, so maybe she could help you at least figure out what is going on." Lucy considered it and then she brightened up.

"That's a great idea, Natsu! Let's go to the guild." She spread her wings before Natsu got a chance to react, and flew out of her open window towards the guild.

* * *

Once I entered the guild, I dropped to the floor and started walking over to where I knew Levy would be sitting. The solid-script mage was reading a book, as usual. I was surprised to see a certain iron dragon slayer sitting beside her with an oddly peaceful expression on his normally scowling face. I hopped up on the table and greeted the pair cheerfully.

"Good morning, Levy, Gajeel!" The slayer scowled and turned away sulkily. _Jeez, what's his problem? Maybe he's still mad about yesterday. _Levy closed her book carefully and then looked up at me, smiling.

"Good morning, Lu-chan! It's good to see you, I was a little worried about you. Yesterday you had that fight with Gajeel, and then Natsu stole you away! And of course, your new body!"

I laughed a little, "Yeah, I'm fine, Levy. There's no need to worry about me. Anyway, I wanted to ask you for some help. "

She nodded eagerly, "Sure, what is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you know anything about my transformation. Have you read anything somewhere, or do you have any information on spontaneous changes like this"

Levy's face fell a bit. "Well, Lucy, yesterday after you left, I decided to do some research on my own. I wanted to see if I could find anything out for you. But there is nothing in any of my books, or in the nearby libraries, that sounds anything like what happened to you. I found stuff about other transformations, but they all were caused by spells that either took a long time to cast or spells that you have to cast on yourself. I even looked through Gajeel's books on dragon magic with him. We were up all night, but we still didn't find anything." She played with her fingers on top of the table, looking slightly ashamed.

_ Aww. If Levy says there isn't anything that she knows, what am I supposed to do now? I mean, she checked her books, the libraries, and Gajeel's—Wait a second! Gajeel has books!? She was at his house all night! We need to talk later! But anyway, I have bigger problems right now._

"Lu-chan? Are you listening?" I shook myself out of my daze, suddenly remembering that I was having a conversation.

"Oh, sorry, Levy. I was just thinking for a minute. What were you saying?"

Levy smiled. "It's ok. I just asked if you know of any other places where we could find rare books or any people who might be more knowledgeable about transformations."

I thought about it for a bit. Then, I was struck by panic as I remembered something very important! "My keys! Where are my keys!?"

_ This is horrible! I'm a celestial spirit mage, how could I forget about my spirits! I'm going to have to make this up to them after I get myself out of this mess!_

"Here you go Lushy! I took them from your apartment yesterday because I knew you would get mad if you lost them." Out of nowhere, Happy popped up on the table next to me. He was holding my bundle of keys in his paws.

I felt a relieved smile spreading across my face, and I squished him into a hug. I shouted, "Thank you so much Happy! I'm gonna give you a whole bucket of fish when I get back my body!"

I looked back at Levy. Both she and Gajeel were giving me curious looks, and I realized how random and weird I must have been acting. I pawed the table sheepishly.

"Ahhh, sorry about that. I just remembered something that could help us." I pushed my keys over to Levy and she opened them up. "We can ask Crux if he knows anything. He has access to a whole library in the spirit world!" I explained to her rather proudly.

Levy picked up the key in question and inspected it, as if she expected to find something on it. Then she set it down in front of me and said, "That's a great idea Lucy! I'm sure that we could find something with the help of your spirits. Only . . . can you even summon your spirits in that form? You have your new dragon magic, so can you still use the gate keys?"

My newfound hope sank. _She's right. I don't know if I can still summon my spirits. Hm . . . I guess I'll just have to try and see if it works. It should work. My contract doesn't just disappear because I'm in a different body. Alright, let's do this!_

"That's true Levy, but I still have to give it a try!" She gave me a reassuring smile, and handed me Crux's gate key. I held it out awkwardly in my claws and commanded, "Open, Gate of the Southern Cross; Crux!" **(AN: It's been awhile since I've read or watched a scene where Lucy does this summoning, so please correct me if I get the summoning or his personality wrong!) **

There was the sound of bells, and a flash of light. In front of us was Crux, half asleep as usual.

_ Yes! It worked! Now to see if he knows anything useful! _

"Crux, I'm glad that I was able to summon you. As you can see, I'm not in my usual body. I woke up yesterday morning like this for seemingly no reason. Do you know anything that could explain why this transformation happened?" I asked the old spirit hopefully.

He crossed his arms thoughtfully and spoke. "Ah, Miss Lucy, it's been awhile. Allow me to look for . . ." he trailed off and started snoring lightly.

I waited patiently, but Levy put her hand on my back and gave me a look of confusion. "Um, Lucy, is he asleep?"

I laughed, "No, he's not asleep. He is just looking through his own archives for something that might be useful. Well, I think so anyway."

After a few more minutes of waiting, Crux stopped snoring. He looked up at me regretfully, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"I'm sorry Miss Lucy, but I haven't found anything that sounds like your particular situation. I am certain that I could eventually find information, but it will take more time."

I sighed. "It's okay Crux. Thank you for helping. You can go back now." He disappeared in another flash of golden light. _Well, there goes that idea,_ I thought bitterly. I pushed his gate key in front of the solid script mage, and asked in a low tone, "Levy, can you do me a favor and take care of my keys for me? I'm not confident that I can protect them right now."

I jumped off of the table and made my way out of the guild, dodging the occasional flying object and ignoring Levy calling my name as I went. My tail drooped sulkily behind me, and I briefly acknowledged the fact that I was acting somewhat childish. I didn't let that stop me as I slipped outside and started walking through the streets of Magnolia.

* * *

I wandered around aimlessly for hours. _This is stupid. I shouldn't be running away from my problems like this. I'm not going to solve anything like this. What would Mama say? _I hung my head in shame. I knew I was behaving cowardly, but I was just stressed and worried. I missed being my normal self. I wanted to go on missions. I wanted to wear cute clothes. I wanted to get my old life back, where I didn't have to worry about setting things on fire and getting stepped on. It had only been two days, but I still missed it.

When the pavement under my feet turned into soft grass, I looked up to check my surroundings. I had ended up in Magnolia's rainbow sakura tree grove. I smiled, remembering the time that Natsu had dug up a tree so that I could see the blossoms from my window. I walked toward the center of the park until I found that same tree.

It was one of the biggest ones there, and the blossoms were almost in full bloom. I soon found myself curled up in between the giant roots. The light scent of the flowers wafted through the air, making me feel sleepy. It wasn't long before I fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

A few hours later, Natsu came running towards Lucy. When he saw her sleeping beneath the tree, he laughed. "Luce, why the hell are you taking a nap in a park? You're such a weirdo," Natsu spoke in an uncharacteristically tender tone. He sat down next the dragon girl with his legs folded, and, after a moment's hesitation, picked her up and placed her on his lap.

Natsu stroked one of Lucy's slender horns, which flashed in the afternoon sun. Her scales felt unnaturally hot, and for a second, Natsu was reminded of Igneel. _It's been awhile since I last went looking for him. Maybe I should take Lucy with me next time. I have to find him. I have to find out why he left in the first place. I promised myself that, the day he left._

Lucy stirred in his arms. She tilted back her head and yawned, showing off all of her deadly sharp teeth. Natsu gave her a goofy smile. "Hi Lucy!"

She stared up at him with bleary eyes. "Natsu. Why are you here?" she asked him in a voice still thick with sleep.

"Well, after I finished teaching that ice bastard Gray a lesson, Levy came to find me. She said something about one of your spirits, the sleeping one, and doing some research. Then she said you had got upset, and left the guild without saying anything about where you were going. Oh yeah, and she gave me this to give to you," Natsu held up Lucy's key pouch for her to see before putting it back in his pockets. "So I went to look for you. It took me a really long time. You practically wandered around the entire city! It was difficult to track your scent properly with all of your overlapping paths, but eventually I found you here."

By the time Natsu was done with his short account, Lucy was fully awake, and feeling properly ashamed. She covered her snout with her paws, and if she could have blushed, she would have.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy tried to calm herself down. Finally, she was able to talk.

First, she got off of Natsu and sat in the grass with her head lying on her hands. Then, in a small voice, she said, "Natsu, I'm sorry that I made you look all over for me. It was selfish to do something like that without considering how it might affect others. I just . . . I got frustrated, I guess. I was so hopeful that Levy would be able to help me, and I thought I was about to make a breakthrough when I summoned Crux. I had hoped that it would be over, and that I would find a way to transform back. I was foolish to think that we would find a solution that easily. But I just gave up. I felt angry, and at the same time I was despairing. How am I ever going to get my old body back? I'm going to be stuck like this forever!" Lucy's voice cracked in the end. Her eyes watered, and a lone tear made its way down her face.

Natsu frowned, "Lucy. Don't you remember what I told you earlier? You will get your body back." His expression became serious as he looked down at Lucy and said, "I will do anything it takes, to get back your body, and to make you happy again."

The girl stared up at her partner with shining eyes. Her mouth was slightly open, but she didn't say anything. _Natsu . . . he's so sweet. I can't believe he would do so much for me. I'm never going to be able to repay him once I get out of this mess._

"Then again, maybe it would be fun if you stayed a dragon. That way, I could have an endless amount of fire to eat, and I'd be able to get super strong and powerful! Yeah!" He threw back his head to laugh loudly, and he patted Lucy's golden shoulder enthusiastically.

Lucy scowled. _I should have known. He never takes anything seriously. Honestly, how could I have expected anything different from him? If he keeps it up, I'm going to smack his ridiculous pink-haired self into the next dimension!_

The girl-turned-dragon launched herself into the air and glared down at Natsu. Furious, Lucy shouted, "We'll see who's laughing when I roast you to a crisp, you flaming idiot!" Without thinking, she spat an enormous golden fireball at her partner.

He stopped his guffawing to stare at the fast approaching flames, and then quickly opened up his mouth wider than should have been possible. In one gulp, Natsu downed Lucy's attack. She gaped at him as he slurped every bit of her attack down greedily. When the fire mage was done, he smirked.

"Thanks for the meal, Luce! It was delicious! I think I'd be better off keeping you as a dragon- eh!?" Natsu paused his taunting when he noticed that his teammate was emitting a rather dark and scary aura. Her usually friendly brown eyes had a demonic glow that reminded him of Erza and Mirajane. He started sweating slightly, and whimpered, "Lucy, please don't hurt me!"

The tiny blondie cracked her knuckles menacingly and growled, "Natsu, you have exactly three seconds to run for your life, or I am going to end it here and now!"

"Three!"

Natsu started backing away nervously.

"Two!"

He turned away and started running at top speed back into the city, his scarf flapping wildly behind him.

"ONE! I'm going to kill you Natsu!" Lucy roared and tore after the terrified pinkette in a fiery streak.


End file.
